Illithids are a race of extremely intelligent creatures designed to work as organic computers, a network of minds linked around the central hubs of the elder brains. When the illithid overthrew the shapers, the vast majority altered themselves, making themselves more powerful and deadly. However, some elder brain communities refused the transformation, remaining in their original form. These illithid remained on the surface when the rest of their race was driven underground, and struggle to prove themselves different from their brethren.

Personality: Illithids are extremely intelligent, and they can be extremely proud. Their weak, frail bodies make them not particularly suited to physical labor, which many illithids regard as beneath them, preferring more intellectual pursuits. This gives many illithid the appearance of being stuck up and self-important. Most illithids do feel that they deserve some degree of special priveledge for the simple virtue of being smart. However, they are also smart enough not to reveal this too openly, and can actually be exceptionally coercive. Most illithid tent to have a taste for the finer things, with a particular affection of jewelry and gems of all sorts.

Physical Description: Illithid are exceptionally tall and thin, almost gaunt of body, with long, spindly limbs and skin ranging from off-white to deep purple.. Their heads are large, bulbous, and completely devoid of hair. The illithid have two deep-set eyes that are often milky white, or glow from within. They have no noses, and their mouths are circular, lamprey-like rings of teeth. This mouth is surrounded by four long tentacles used to pass food to the mouth. An illithid can also use these tentacle as an additional hand, if necessary, though doing so is seen as less than polite. Illithid generally stand between six and seven feet in height, and rarely weight more than 140 pounds, usually averaging between 100 and 120 pounds. Illithid are exceptionally long lived, reaching adulthood at 100 years of age and some rare illithid living to exceed 1000.

Relations: Illithid are usually satisfied to remain within the abandoned laboratories of the shapers, often working alongside gnomes as they perform their research. However, the illithid need to eat, and thus they must emerge from time to time to trade psionic or magical services with the nearby towns and cities to earn the gold to trade for their rather exclusive diet of grey matter. Often, an elder brain will dedicate illithids to take turns setting up shop in nearby cities to serve as local magicians, selling simple potions and spells to townsfolk. Many distrust them, but illithids are extremely honorable and proud, and never go back on their word.

Alignment: Most illithid are solidly lawful neutral, unlike their lawful evil relatives. They may not be particularly good, but their self-interest prevents them from doing anything that might bring the anger of the common races upon them, like their brothers.

Illithid Lands: Illithid tended to remain where they were during the overthrow of their brothers, offering their full support to the other races to prove they weren’t like their relatives. This has allowed a sort of uneasy pact of non-interference as the illithid simply took over the laboratories of their old masters to use as their own. These laboratories are often shared with the gnomes, who use the lower levels as hospitals and medical experimentation labs, while the illithid take the upper levels for arcane and psionic research.

Language: Illithid mouths are incapable of speech, or making any vocalizations beyond a hiss or, in some cases, some simple whistling sounds. Instead, the illithid communicate telepathically, which leands illithids an eerily silent quality. Even illithid children playing are utterly silent, even if there is a loud mental argument going on. The range of this communication also means that most illithid labs are constantly abuzz with silent, mental conversations, even if the illithid show no external signs of this communication. To outsiders, the illithids seem supernaturally in tune with one-another, eerily organized. Illithids write in dwarven, but more and more commonly, they record their thoughts using crystals designed to hold and playback thoughts broadcast telepathically into them when activated.

Names: Illithid names are impossible to pronounce, being constructs of pure thought that can tell you a great deal about the illithid in question, such as which lab he is a part of, any titles or accolades he may have received, how old he is, and so on. Those illithid heading out among the other races generally give themselves ‘proper’ names that can be spoken aloud, purely for the convenience.

Adventurers: Illithid adventurers are not very common. Generally, adventuring requires to much physical labor and effort to be worth it. Still, adventuring is a good way to rapidly improve one’s skills, and there are many illithids who see adventuring as a chance to gather shaper artifacts or knowledge that would otherwise remain hidden forever.

ILLITHID RACIAL TRAITS

+2 Intelligence, +2 charisma, -2 strength, -2 constitution. Illithid are (or were in some cases) exceptionally intelligent and persuasive. However, their bodies are generally weak and frail.

Aberration: Illithid are not subject to spells or effects that affect humanoids only, such as charm person or dominate person.

Medium: As Medium creatures, illithid have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.

Illithid base land speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision: Illithid can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and illithid can function just fine with no light at all.

Thought Eater: Illithids can consume the minds of creatures to gain access to their memories. This can only be done to a willing or helpless non-mindless creature that is not immune to critical hits. The illithid must be in physical contact with the creature’s head in order to use this ability. Each round, the illithid deals 1 points of intelligence damage to the target creature and may make an in intelligence check each round to pull a relevant fact or piece of information from the creature’s mind, intact. If the target reaches 0 int from this, they target dies, their brain consumed from inside their skulls.

Type of Information

Check DC

Simple, Well known by the target

10

Specific detail, relatively recent memory

20

Obscure detail, Easily forgotten or missed

25

Extremely obscure, Not understood, Very distant memory, Very limited knowledge

30

Mind Strike: An illithid can spend a standard action to attempt to overwhelm the mind of a single creature it can communicate with telepathically. The target must make a will save (DC 10+½ HD+cha mod) or be dazed for one round. The duration of this dazed effect increases by one round every 4 HD they possess. This is a mind-affecting ability. After using this ability, an illithid must wait 1d4 rounds before it can use it again.

Naturally Psionic: An illithid gains 2 bonus power points at 1st level. This benefit does not grant them the ability to manifest powers unless they gain that ability through another source, such as levels in a psionic class.

Telepathy: An illithid can communicate telepathically with any creature within 100 feet that has a language.

Favored Class: Psion (telepath). A multiclass illithid’s psion (telepath) class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience penalty for multiclassing.